Step After Step
by ComCody
Summary: An old Jedi Master visits a planet that he once knew and remembers old times, the times when he learned to let go...and move on.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own any ony of the SW stuff, that's Georgie's, i do own the original stuff though. ;) _

Step after step after step he took through the deserted streets wondering around aimlessly as he looked around for any sign of the beautiful city that once occupied his thoughts every time he thought about his home.

Yet every where he looked he could see only death, ashes and pain drowning the aura of peace and happiness that once was omnipresent through the peaceful capital of Naboo, his true home, the one place he never did have a chance to visit on pleasurable occasions.

In all his life he had visited his birth city only five times, each one a time of peril and tragedy, for himself as for others.

Almost all his memories of Naboo were encased in a shell of pain and suffering, pain at his own inability to protect the one man that has been like a father for him, pain at the sight of the droid armies marching across the once peaceful streets, pain at the thought of his inability to help the two people he would have protected even at the cost of his own life.

Yet one by one they had all been lost, all victims of the poisonous touch of the Sith. All taken too soon from a galaxy that requested their gifts now more than ever, but at least they had not gone for nothing.

Qui-Gon, Anakin and Padmé; the three pillars of his being had all slipped away from his grasp, one by one until all that remained was Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi master, general of the Grand army of the republic, master of Anakin, padawan of Qui-Gon and guardian of the one that left him the most precious gift he needed, her trust.

But what did those titles mean to him?

Nothing, each of them was nothing but traces of a dark past.

What did they bring him?

Pain and anguish, poison to his soul and anger to his heart; for that was what sent him on his pilgrimage to the once prosperous planet of Naboo twenty years after the Sith's fall into oblivion and the republic's rebirth.

He tried everything he could, but not even Yoda seemed to be able to help him, not even nine hundred years of experience could grant him a solution to his problems.

And thus he found his steps slowly guided towards the place where it all began, where he had took his first step along a path that would last 13 years before it reached its tragic end, a path filled with joy and sadness, with love and regret.

Naboo, had not yet been declared inhabitable, yet he had managed to get permission from both the Republics two chancellors and from the Jedi Council and thus he was the first one to see the surface of the planet ten years after the Battle of Naboo, the last battle in the Rebellion against Palpatine's New Order.

The planet had been the battlefield for a battle the likes of never seen since the Great Hyperspace War. For days the sky flashed, set ablaze by the obliterating charges of energy that sizzled against shields and ships of all sizes, types and convictions.

Some fought for their homes, some for the future of the galaxy, some for the Republic, others for a much simpler concept, they were the ones who fought for life itself, the ones that said "enough!" to the Empire's oppression and destruction and decided to step up and obtain justice once and for all.

But in the end it had surpassed a simple clash between oppressors and oppressed, it turned into a battle against evil itself as Master Kenobi found out quite painfully.

The city was nothing more than a mass of ruble and death, yet Obi-Wan could still clearly see the streets, the fountains, the gardens, he could hear the children's laughter and the busy hum of the living force as it flew among every one uniting them into the delicate shroud of the Force.

As he stepped through the abandoned roads, every footstep rousing a minute cloud of dust behind him, he remembered the victory parade that took place after the Battle of Naboo.

He could see the Gungan army parading on Theed's main boulevard heading straight for the Palace under the cheers of the people of Naboo, and most importantly his joy at the thought of Qui-Gon's reaction towards the reconciliation of two long arguing neighbors.

He could see the Jedi procession that came to honor Qui-Gon, he could feel the cool air that came from the thunderous fountains that surrounded all of Theed and he could sense the peace and prosperity that floated through the air.

Most importantly he remembered the sensation of emptiness that took hold of him when he saw Qui-Gon's body disappearing on the unreal pyre and how that emptiness was filled as much as possible by a brave small boy that managed to support both of them trough that moment.

As he finally managed to drift away from the mesmerizing flow of memories he notice to his surprise that his steps had guided him right to the Imperial Palace, the place where Palpatine moved the center of his Empire…

…And the place where he had been brought to his downfall.

Obi-Wan paused a moment in front of the colossal ruins that had replaced the architectural marvel that had once been the Palace of Theed and then he drifted back into the past, leaving the Force to guide his path.

_**Please review...at least one of you so i don't leve the story hanging. :) Enjoy**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you "i love ewansmile" for the review and yes, ewan is awesome. :) _

_Disclaimer: I don't own any ony of the SW stuff, that's Georgie's, i do own the original stuff though. ;)_

They were only 20, no less, no more than twenty Jedi powerful enough to even consider entering the same room as Darth Sidious or his new apprentice, Darth Vader, yet they were all there, at Naboo, fighting side by side with the few commandos that were crazy enough to venture on this suicidal mission along with their Jedi companion.

The preparations for battle had gone well, as well as any other battle against an overwhelming enemy force that had the best destructive weapons credits could buy and madmen create.

And there they were, in the docking bay of the Restaurateur, the Alliance's flagship, 20 of the greatest Jedi that have served the Jedi Order and the Republic since the day they were born.

There in a circle stood the last descendants of the Jedi Masters, the few survivors of the execution of the Jedi Purge, the ones that left the safety of the Nexic Architecture in order to bring an end to the Dark Emperor's reign.

Each of them knew the stakes of the game and each of them knew that they might not return from this trial of their skill and they're dedication to the light side of the force, but none of them spoke of their worries or proposed to avoid action.

None said a word, letting the silence reign between them as they casually prepared to go to their death, some meditating, others dueling and others going over series of kata so furious and rapid that they seemed to form a continuous network of emerald and azure light.

As Obi-Wan Kenobi watched he saw commandos methodically go over their equipment, expertly disassembling and reassembling blaster rifles, comm systems and other devices whose purpose Obi-Wan doubted he even knew.

A few meters away mechanics were doing last minute upgrades, improvements and check-ups on the series of starfighters and assault shuttles that composed the main means of deployment of the Jedi strike force, the Alliance's sole solution for ensuring the Sith lords' annihilation.

He couldn't take anymore.

Cautiously he wrapped himself in the Force and, effortlessly concealing his presence in its embrace, swiftly drifted away from the crowded hangar along the semi abandoned service shafts.

He followed the twisting path as it took him deeper and deeper towards the core of the ship until he stopped dumbstruck by the sight before him.

In the middle of a small room sat a simple liquid silver globe that seemed to float in the middle of the gravitational void created by the two anti-grav generators that cast their bluish light across the darkened room.

The console seemed to shiver in anticipation as he took one step closer to it, so close in fat that he could notice the reflection of his face within it.

For what seemed like minutes he glared at it admiring its subtle changes of color and the way the light seemed to bounce of its glassy surface, sparkling like star light in the middle of a warm summer night.

It was soothing and before he realized it his cloak was off and he was sitting cross-legged opposed to the small radiant sphere.

He slowly opened himself to the Force with the same grace that he had learned to use during all his years as a padawan and left his thoughts and emotions drift into the Force and he found himself left wordless as he saw the sizzling force energy that surrounded the sphere.

The once gleaming silver opaque surface now shone with sizzling blue force energy and from its depths radiated an eerie glow that transformed into a swirling expanse of stars and planets.

It took seconds for Obi-Wan to recover from his amazement, but not as much before his curiosity kicked in and he slowly approached the sphere.

Just as he was he was about to reach through the limits of the generators' grav field he was surprised to hear a small cough behind him.

"Quite magnificent, isn't it?"

Obi-Wan failed to answer the question as he was still puzzled by how the man had managed to enter the room undetected.

No meditation could have prevented him from sensing the presence of the other man, yet he preferred not to voice his questions yet.

"Mind if I join you?' the older man asked before kneeling down in a meditation position before the sphere. "Name's Ren, Ren Solo."

Obi-Wan quietly thought about leaving, yet for some reason he sensed the Force tugging him to talk to the man.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi." he reluctantly said and sat down next to the man.

"Well, Obi-Wan Kenobi, what is it that's bothering you?"

"You mean besides the obvious?" Obi-Wan incredulously asked not even thinking that the man didn't realize that he was Anakin's master.

Ren just sighed and started to play with a small crystal coin that he pulled out from a pocket of his flight jacket.

"The obvious, what is there that is obvious except that you are basking in self pity?" the warmth and interest on his face replaced with a disinterested blank look.

A thousand reactions coursed through Obi-Wan's mind from anger to shock, yet there was something in the old man that stopped him from storming out.

"Good, you're making progress, yet the pain is still there, but it's not going to disappear as long as you cling to it." Ren said nodding knowingly.

"I'm not clinging to anything." Obi-Wan growled his reply.

This time the older man just burst in a bitter laugh, the crystal shining between his fingers.

"Really, in that case you wouldn't mind if I told you I had the contents of that box that you kept in your fighter torched."

Before Ren had time to even glance towards Obi-Wan he was grabbed by his jacket's choler and rose to his feet so that his face was really close to that of an infuriated Jedi master.

"You did what?" Obi-Wan incredulously asked as the contents of the case flashed before his eyes.

His padawan braid...

Anakin's lightsaber, actually the remains of his first lightsaber...

Holorecordings of all his friends and the best moments of his life...

All small meaningles things to others, yet for him...they were more valuable to him than anything else...

In that single wodden case he held his most valued possession and no one was supposed to touch them…

In fact, no one even knew about them.

Obi-Wan's expression quickly became one of shock as he realized what had just happened and for once he was definetely not pleased with it.

"You tr…tricked me!" He muttered bowing his head and letting Ren go.

The older man just bowed his head, adjusted his colar and sat down, resuming his meditation.

Silence seemed todominate the room as both men dwelved into their thoughts surounded by the glowing galactic expanse that slowly beagan spinning faster and faster until the entire room was filled with thousands of little lights sparkling as they flew through the air.

The once peaceful ordered display of the galaxy became a chaotic mass of colors and lights that swirled throught the air colliding and expanding forming new planets and stars, swarming before his eyes until the shear mass of light was enough to blind him.

Cautiously Obi-Wan extended his perceptions into the Force and quickly scanned the room looking for any signs of danger, yet all he could sense was an overwhelming sense of peace and calmness coming from Ren.

_Relax Kenobi; let your mind join the dance. _

Th thought of Ren's voice in his mind was not all to pleasing, yet if it passed his shields the first time he didn't believe there was much he could do if he planned to break his shields.

Cautiosly and a bit reluctant he once more settled on the cool durasteel flor and slipped into meditation, knowing that something was going to happen by the continuous tremors he felt from the Force.

Yet what he didn't expect was to find himself thrusted in the depths of space and to awake in the middle of a dark gloomy room where the only souce of lightning weer the sparks delivered by a small poo of light found in the middle of the chamber.

The chamber itself was impressive, but the sight of the gargantuan statues that edged the corners of the room was even more impressive as all these giants of the past seemed alive in the trembling light of the pool.

And even more impressing was when he turned to see a man who he never believed he'll see again, at least not so soon, yet there he was in full Jedi attire and standing right beside him…

_Well, hope you enjoy!_

_**"Please review...at least one of you so i don't leve the story hanging. :) Enjoy" **_

_**I did say this...yet i did hope that more would review so please do. :)  
**_


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